ABOUT THE BROWNS
1. Every week is a test for Baker Mayfield and the young Browns. As interim coach Gregg Williams said, the team really doesn’t have any old players. Mayfield is emerging as a leader while being a rookie quarterback. That’s not common. But that trait is why John Dorsey made Mayfield the top pick in the 2018 draft.
2. While the weather is not supposed to be awful for the home game against Carolina, Sunday’s high is predicted to be 35 degrees. It will be cold. This is a good test for Mayfield to handle the kind of weather he’ll face in December. If the Browns ever make the playoffs with him, the biggest games will be in January – and not in a dome.
3. The Browns want these last four games to have as much meaning as possible for the young players. Dorsey’s plan was to move the team out of the total building phase and head in the direction of winning and competing in the AFC North. For too long, the regular seasons have almost seemed like an extension of training camp with so little emphasis on winning.
4. But the Browns have been sinking in the swamp of losing for years. I watch Jamie Collins not looking very engaged on some plays, and I know the Browns don’t want that to be a role model for the younger players. Williams has refused to publicly criticize his linebacker, but the veteran’s lack of spark and big plays is disturbing.
5. It’s not the gospel, but Profootballfocus rates Collins at No. 43 out of the 58 linebackers who have played at least 50 percent of their team’s snaps. Joe Schobert is No. 6. Schobert is considered elite in pass coverage, so-so against the run. There is nothing that stands out about Collins.
6. Collins signed a 4-year, $50 million deal before the 2017 season. He missed the final seven games of 2017 with a knee injury that required ACL surgery. Is it possible the knee isn’t 100 percent recovered from the surgery? That sometimes happens with a major operation such as an ACL.
7. Collins had $26 million guaranteed in his contract, most of that paid in the first two seasons. That’s why he could be gone as the team retools for the 2019 season. The Browns know they must upgrade the linebacker position.
8. I heard Antonio Callaway had his best week of practice in a long time. The rookie receiver was on the verge of making two huge plays in last week’s loss to Houston. A fumble near the goal line cost him a 76-yard TD reception. Callaway’s speed and other physical gifts are the kind that could turn him into an impact player.
9. As for Callaway off the field, I heard there has been “no drama” since his arrest for a traffic violation during training camp. Callaway was suspended for all of 2017 at Florida. He only played 26 games in college. He’s 22 and has a lot to learn.
10. Many of the Browns' rookies (other than Ohio State’s Denzel Ward) are from Southern schools: Mayfield (Oklahoma), Nick Chubb (Georgia), Callaway (Florida), Genard Avery (Memphis). So it’s important they get a dose of the cold weather and learn how to play in it.
11. Mayfield has been anxious all week for the Carolina game. “I’m very eager,” he said. He’s still unhappy with himself for the three first-half interceptions in the loss to Houston. He was better in the second half (25-of-30 passing, 351 yards).
12. The Browns are 4-7-1. Only Baltimore (7-5) has a winning record. Carolina and Denver are 6-6. The 5-7 Bengals have lost 6-of-7 games. The Browns finishing with at least six wins should be a realistic goal.
ABOUT MIKE McCARTHY
1. I don’t know what Browns General Manager John Dorsey thinks about Mike McCarthy – at least McCarthy in terms of becoming the Browns' next head coach. Virtually everyone who spent time with the Packers has tremendous respect for McCarthy as a person. It’s a good guess Dorsey is in that group.
2. Here’s another guess: I think Dorsey will favor an experienced NFL coach compared to someone straight from college, such as Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley. This is just a guess, but Dorsey is an NFL creature...player, scout, executive...he’s done about everything except be a head coach in the NFL.
3. Dorsey hired people who have deep NFL roots: Assistant GM Eliot Wolf and VP Player Personnel Alonzo Highsmith. Both worked with Dorsey in Green Bay, where McCarthy was the head coach for 13 years.
4. The Browns probably know McCarthy better than any other team looking for a head coach in 2019. That includes his strengths and weaknesses. McCarthy was fired last week by the Packers.
5. Another guess is the Browns don’t want to turn Mayfield over to an inexperienced coach. Dorsey had a lot of success in Kansas City with Andy Reid, another veteran coach who had been fired after 14 years in Philadelphia. Reid was hired first, then Dorsey came on board as general manager.
6. This isn’t to say McCarthy is coming to Cleveland. John Harbaugh could be a strong candidate if he is fired by Baltimore after the season. Or perhaps I’m wrong and the Browns will go the young NFL assistant or college coach route. There’s no track record because Dorsey has not hired a coach before. Furthermore, Dorsey will keep this decision quiet just as he did his moves at the top of the 2018 draft.
7. Peter King wrote an interesting story about McCarthy in Green Bay. The theme was that after 13 years, things had become stale. The relationship between McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers had fallen apart. And it’s possible McCarthy could revive his career exactly as Reid did in Philadelphia.
8. There is a lot of time, and even more names will pop up before the Browns have to pick a new coach. But with McCarthy becoming an option, it’s worth considering the man who coached Green Bay to the playoffs nine times in 13 years.
ABOUT THE OFFENSIVE LINE
1. The Browns have been very encouraged with how the offensive line has come together. Yes, Mayfield gets rid of the ball quickly. New offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens has called plays to take some of the pressure off the line. But not allowing a sack in the last three games is very meaningful.
2. This is the first time since 1988 the Browns have gone three games without the QB being sacked. Some of this also coincides with Greg Robinson taking over at left tackle. If Robinson can play reasonably well in the final four games, that means the Browns don’t have to use a high draft pick on a left tackle.
3. The Browns have been extremely pleased with JC Tretter, the former Green Pay Packer who has played much of this season with a sprained ankle. Tretter had missed 17-of-48 games because of injuries in his three years with Green Bay (2014-16). Since signing with the Browns, he’s played every game.
4. Former VP Sashi Brown signed Tretter and Kevin Zeitler as free agents. Zeitler has done a solid job at right guard. Add in Joel Bitonio at left guard and the Browns are strong up the middle.
5. Bitonio needs to take one more step in his game to become a Pro Bowler. He is very close to that caliber at the age of 27. Tretter will be 27 on December 12. Zeitler is 28. So all three players are in their prime.
6. Robinson is only 26. That’s the same age as rookie Desmond Harrison, who had been starting at left tackle. Right tackle Chris Hubbard has probably struggled the most of the group. But right now, the line appears to be in very good shape.
7. Robinson is a free agent at the end of the season, so it will be interesting to see if there is a market for him – assuming he continues to play well.
8. I will be signing copies of “Browns Blues” at Books-a-Million Cuyahoga Falls from 7-8 p.m. on Tuesday.